


My Mind is in Doubt, Please Help Me Out

by LittleMissAgrafina



Series: Comfortember 2020 [9]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Cuddles, Dissociation, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hugs, Hurt/Comfort, Irondad, Parent Tony Stark, Peter Doubts His Reality, Peter Parker Gets a Hug, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter Parker has PTSD, Poor Peter Parker, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark is a Good Dad, only slightly, spiderson
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-11
Updated: 2020-11-11
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:22:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 735
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27507553
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleMissAgrafina/pseuds/LittleMissAgrafina
Summary: "Hey there, Pete. You with me?"Peter nodded his head slightly before hesitating and shaking it instead. "Fuzzy. Dunno what's real." His words came out so quiet that Tony had to strain slightly to hear them."That's okay, we can work on it, yeah?" Tony reassured him softly, running his thumb over Peter's knuckles.---Sometimes Peter's PTSD makes him doubt what's real and what isn't. It's a good thing Tony is always there to help him.Comfortember Day 11. PTSD
Relationships: Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Series: Comfortember 2020 [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1995808
Comments: 17
Kudos: 180
Collections: Comfortember 2020





	My Mind is in Doubt, Please Help Me Out

**Author's Note:**

> I feel like this is a bit repetitive to some of my works (especially one or two that im still waiting to post as a part of Comfortember) but I really like it so I don't wanna change it. I hope you guys like it too!

Tony woke up to a trembling hand shaking his arm. He opened his sleep bleary eyes and immediately sat up when he saw Peter's pale, tear streaked face.

  
  


"C'mere, Bug, let's head down to the living room so we don't wake Pep." Tony said as he swung his legs from under the duvet and stood up. He took one of Peter's hands in his and led him out to the hallway and down the stairs. Once they reached the living, he turned the lights up slightly, knowing that Peter would need to be able to see properly but not have it too bright that it overwhelmed his senses. That was the last thing Tony wanted to add to Peter right now.

  
  


Gently guiding Peter to sit on the couch, he pulled a blanket from the chest near the fireplace and draped it over his kid's shoulders. It wasn't too cold that night but between the obvious nightmare that Peter had woken from as well as his temperamental thermoregulation, Tony thought it was better to be safe than sorry. A cozy Spiderbaby was better than a frozen one.

  
  


Tony sat on the coffee table in front of Peter and grasped his still trembling hands in his own. His eyes flitted over Peter's pale face, taking in the red rimmed, dull eyes. 

  
  


_ Oh, kid. I hate that you have to deal with this too. _

  
  


"Hey there, Pete. You with me?"

  
  


Peter nodded his head slightly before hesitating and shaking it instead. "Fuzzy. Dunno what's real." His words came out so quiet that Tony had to strain slightly to hear them.

  
  


"That's okay, we can work on it, yeah?" Tony reassured him softly, running his thumb over Peter's knuckles. "You feel that?" Peter hummed. "Okay. I'm gonna move my hands and so that I'm holding only one of yours and then I'm going to trace over your palm. I want you to focus on what I'm tracing and then tell me what it is. That too much? Do you want to do the countdown instead or is this okay?" Tony asked him.

  
  


Peter answered by turning the palm of his one hand over in Tony's grasp. He shifted his now free hand and moved it to take hold of a corner of the blanket he was wrapped in, his fingers twisting and pulling at the fabric as he tried to remind himself of where he was. That he was safe and real.

  
  


Tony slowly traced a symbol on the palm of Peter's hand, repeating it again when he saw Peter lose focus on it. There was silence for a moment before Peter cracked the smallest hint of a smile when the symbol registered.

  
  


"Spidey logo."

  
  


"Good job! And this one?" Tony traced another symbol and Peter took a few seconds again before answering but he got it right.

  
  


They carried on with it until Peter felt more grounded and sure of where he was.

  
  


"You feeling better now, Bud?" Tony murmured as he got up from his coffee table perch and sat next to Peter on the couch.

  
  


"Yes. Thank you. Sorry you have to help me with this so often." Peter hated that he woke up so regularly from nightmares or panic attacks, that they happened so often it was almost routine. He hated how there was almost always a niggling doubt in the back of his mind whether his surroundings were real or not.

  
  


So easily could reality be switched for illusion just as illusion could be switched back with reality again. It was sickening really, how easy a human mind was tricked.

  
  


"You don't have anything to be sorry for. I know you feel like this is a burden or a trouble but it isn't, Kid. It's a small way that I can help and I'm more than happy to." Tony responded, wrapping his arms around Peter and dropping a kiss to the top of his head.

  
  


Peter curled closer to him, not saying anything because he knew that he couldn't win against Tony's stubborn caring. Peter still felt guilty for how much he needed help, how weak he was at times, but the help and care he received also made him feel loved and like his world hadn't crumbled with Beck's last illusion as it fell.

  
  


He was loved and his reality would be sure again one day.

  
  


He just had to get there.  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Just a heads up, I'm going to be editing and reposting these a day or two after the og posting once my beta/s have had time to edit and check them over for me. There won't be massive changes I don't think but I just wanted to put it out there lol


End file.
